Quilt of Honor Finished!

Recently, I finished a special Quilt of Honor for a wonderful Marine who served her country during WWII.  This veteran, Jane Ann Jordan Henderson, is unique in that she served in the US Marine Corps Women’s Auxiliary Reserve between April 1943 to October 1945.

This Quilt of Honor was pieced by Bobbie Jarrett and features a photo transfer onto fabric by The Pixeladies, Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki.  This quilt, once bound, will be unveiled at The National Museum of The Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia later in 2013.

Here is the “Before” picture of this quilt, taken before the machine quilting:

Quilt of Honor by Bobbie Jarrett and quilting by Carla Barrett

The designs for this quilt were digitally drawn out by me especially for this quilt.  Once designed, I imported them into Art & Stitch digitizing software, stitched them out, then added lots of freehand touches:

Quilt of Honor for Jane Ann Jordan Henderson. Pieced by Bobbie Jarrett and quilted by Carla Barrett.

I also want to point out that besides all my designs, I also used a wonderful feather design by Sherry Rogers-Harrison in the 2-toned diamond shapes. To fill the space, I freehanded some curls, as well, in the diamond space.

Here are some additional photos of this quilt, and for any non-quilters, the image below shows you what my longarm quilting machine looks like and how the 3 layers (top,batting, backing) are stitched together to make a quilt.  The 3 layers get attached to rollers, then the quilter only works on a small portion of the quilt at a time:

Quilting by Carla Barrett

Block design is also my design, as well as the corner design shown in the above photo.

I wanted to quilt something feminine, but with a patriotic flavor, hence the hearts, feathers, stars and stripes.

Here is how I handled the blocks that had embroidery on them:

Quilting Design by Carla Barrett

I am very pleased the quilt turned out so well, and it is off to be bound by Bobbie.  I plan to post some photos from the ceremony at the museum when the quilt is hung.

I will end this post with a personal note to the recipient, Jane Ann Jordan Henderson:

Dear Mrs. Henderson, I want to thank you for your service to our country.  I understand, too, that you also spent several decades teaching children in El Dorado County schools.  This quilt was a wonderful group effort- and I am privileged to have quilted it for you.  Warm Regards, Carla Barrett

Thinking of Nancy

Nancy is one of my elder friends, who I have quilted many quilts for over the last 6 plus years.  I learned recently from her Daughter-in-law (DIL) that she moved from North Carolina back to Northern CA again.  That’s the good news!

Unfortunately, the good news is tempered with concern.  I learned that Nancy is in the ICU right now, so I wanted to ask you all for your prayers, good thoughts of healing, etc. on her behalf.  Please  think of her when you read this.

Some of you might remember Nancy by her quilts I have quilted.  One of the first ones was this Carolina Lily:

Here is a Wedding Ring quilt:

Here is a 2 alternating block quilt:

Here is my working sketch for this quilt:

Here is another lovely quilt by Nancy:

and another:

Front View:

Plus, I have a few more still for me to do for Nancy, when I recover completely from my spine surgery earlier this year.  I no longer quilt full time, but I still have a few friends (like Nancy) that I quilt for, so long as they don’t mind waiting.

So please keep Nancy in your thoughts and prayers.  Thank you, Carla

 

 

Oreo Update

This update is for those of you following the story of the sweet little black and white cat named Oreo, who  became badly injured after seeking warmth by sleeping in the engine area of a car.   At least this is the Vet’s theory based on the cat’s injuries.  The owner of the cat is disabled, and does not have the resources to pay for the cat’s care, so my dear husband (DH) is paying for all the treatment.

This weekend, Oreo’s back leg was amputated, and now he has recovered enough to be discharged later today.  DH Joe will drive Oreo back to the owner, who lives in the next town over, but I think he is going to offer to adopt this sweet 3 legged feline.  We feel that Oreo should be an indoor cat and will need follow up care.  I will let you know whether we get a new kitty or not.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments about what my husband did.  He is a great guy, a very kind man, and feels he is just doing the right thing and not anything special.  In fact, he doesn’t know I have written 2 posts now about his kindness- and would be embarrassed to learn I did.

Back to my quilting studio now.  I am almost finished with the Kimono quilt for Barb, just need to finish up some curved crosshatching and SID, and I am done!   Hugs from Carla

 

 

 

Oreo The Cat

Earlier this week, one evening, we received a phone call about an injured kitty named Oreo.  The owner lives on disability and had no car  or way to take Oreo to the emergency veterinarian.

My husband dropped everything and drove Oreo to the after hours emergency vet.  This poor cat, only about a year old,  had somehow gotten into a neighbor’s car (fan belt area) and fell asleep.  At least that is what the vet thinks.

Later that evening, we received a call from the emergency vet.  He said the kitty needs his back leg amputated it was so badly mangled.  Oreo had other injuries, too, including his front paw, which possibly sustained nerve damage.  Anyhow, the after-hours vet said that in the morning, Oreo would need to go to the usual vet office for treatment.

The next morning, my husband picked up Oreo and drove him over to our family vet for treatment.  Initially, they thought they could save his leg, but it became much worse.  Time for a decision…. euthanize Oreo or amputate his leg?  My good-hearted husband chose amputation,  saying that Oreo had such a sweet temperament.   Despite his injuries, Oreo was purring and very affectionate.

You may ask why my husband is making all the decisions when Oreo is not our cat?  It is because he knew the owner couldn’t afford the vet care, and really wasn’t in a financial or social position to even have a cat.  So, he is paying for all of Oreo’s vet bills, including emergency hospital care, a week or more of board and care, plus the surgery.  My DH is such a kind man, it touches my heart just how kind.  What is amazing is that my DH thinks he is doing nothing special, just doing the “right thing” for the situation.

Update:  Yesterday, we received a call to learn that Oreo came through the surgery just fine.  That is good news!  I will keep you updated about this now 3 -legged kitty.  Oh yes, the front paw that had some nerve damage initially?  Oreo is now moving it normally, too.

I promise to keep you posted about Oreo.

In Memory of Karen…

I am often contacted to see if I might share one of my cartoons for various purposes or publications.

I was recently contacted by Kathi B., who asked to use my cartoon, titled, “Colonoscopy Prep,” for use in a memorial booklet she put together for her good friend, Karen Murray, to pass out at her memorial service.  Karen, a fun, delightful, positive friend, had passed away as a complication from colon cancer.

What made this most tragic is that Karen’s cancer could have been caught earlier if only she had her baseline Colonoscopy.    She put this test off until her early 60’s, when she was having symptoms.

The booklet, titled, “Musings From The Lipstick Mafia: One Cancer Patient’s Humorous Words of Wisdom and Faith,”  is filled with Karen’s trademark humor and stories about her last two years.   Reading it made me want to know Karen and spend time with her.

In memory of Karen, please consider scheduling your baseline Colonoscopy today.  Please do not put it off!   Oh yes…Be sure to wear your favorite lipstick while you are at it,  in Karen’s memory.

Thrift Store Finds

On my thrift store hunt this week, I found some more clothes to fit my shrinking body and some items for the grandkids.

In the clothes department, I found a whole casual outfit, plus an extra pair of pants.   Here are the size 8 jean capris from Nine West and Eddie Bauer:

Add a casual top that fits really good and shows off my figure:

Feeling chilly? Here is a velour zipper front sport jacket from Liz Claiborne:

Then for the grandkids, I discovered a wide variety of books to add to my home library.  My favorite find is a book called “Bad Kitty.”

This is perfect since Jack really love our kitties when he visits.

That’s all from here.  Regards, Carla

Parsnip Pete…

Karen Anderson, from Blair, NJ, knows all about my strange family Easter ritual that involves a certain chocolate bunny named Parsnip Pete.  Every year, I have driven blog readers crazy by trying to locate Parsnip Pete to give my husband for Easter.

Parsnip Pete, who somehow became a family Easter Basket Favorite, more than 2 decades ago, is becoming harder and harder to spot.  One year, I tried to substitute another brand of chocolate bunny, like Pitstop Pete or the Lil Professor, but the family rebelled.

Karen is a kind soul.  You see, she sent me 2 Parsnip Petes to surprise me, then when it didn’t arrive, sent me two more!!  Here they are:

Notice that the first two are rather sickly?

Yes, it took them several weeks to get here, so perhaps  Parsnip Pete # 1 and 2 had an unfortunate detour to somewhere HOT!!  LOL

The second 2 Parsnip Petes are in pristine condition and look lovely!

Notice the bright yellow eyes?  The fluffy bows?  Thank you, Karen, for making my life simply wonderful  with your gifts!!!  I owe you one, friend!

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Keep watching…. a Parsnip Pete cartoon, an annual Feathered Fibers ritual, may yet appear!!  Hugs, Carla

Catch up!

I was going to write an insightful post about the state where I live and what is happening in our state government.  Then I quickly came to my senses.  My blog is about quilting, fiber arts, jewelry arts, etc.  My blog is about creativity.  Whew… close call.

Catch up time: A quick shout out to Sheryn Lewis and Linda Hancock, who so kindly sent me floss to send on the Lori for the Helping Hands project in Africa.  You 2 women are wonderful!  And a huge thank you to you both!  Lori, I’m cleaning out my studio and sending you a package!

Classes that I teach- Wow!  for some reason, all my classes are sold out and I’ve had requests to add more.  It is nice to be appreciated….  LOL!

Did I mention that Woody the Redneck contractor finally got our security gate going??  Yes, it finally works, camera, keypad and all.  I now have to contact the local emergency services with our code, plus tell trusted neighbors (like Rancher Ed).

It feels good to have this barrier in place, no more lost people knocking on our door for directions, no more religious cults trying to convert us, no more cows eating my garden, life is good.

Speaking of the native wildlife, no one has seen our local mountain lion lately…perhaps he/she has moved on.

Baby Jack is now walking, he is so blasted cute!  His personality is really coming out, he reminds me of his father- my son- at that age.

I’m in the midst of another friend’s quilt- this one is for Doug’s sister, Linda.  Well actually, the quilt is a present for Rainy, who is Linda’s daughter and Doug’s niece.  Pictures to come.

Enjoy your day!  I’m thinking it is time I did some more beading and freeform crochet, the colors call to me……

Snow!!

If we are lucky, maybe we will see snow once a year.  Every few years, it will snow enough to cover the ground.  Snow started falling yesterday morning  and it snowed for hours.

Here is the view out my front door, my back door, and the side:

As you can tell, I have a pretty nice view where I live!  The snow didn’t last, but maybe we will get more tonight!

And oh yes, before I forget:

Happy Valentine’s Day!!  Tonight we are celebrating by attending a fund-raising Crab Feed with Rancher Ed and neighbors down at the Veteran’s Hall.  If that sounds like small town Americana- yes, it is.  LOL!

What are you doing tonight?  Carla

Australian Fire Tragedy

Touring Australia is on my list of places I most want to visit during my lifetime.  In fact, if I could live anywhere else, I would love to live in Australia.  So, with the current Australian wildfire tragedy, I wanted to write a post about  recent events.

Blog visitor Veronica Treen, is a quilter in Western Australia where she lives with her family.  She has kindly been sending me updates of what is happening and sending me lots of photos, too.  Here are pictures making their way around the internet:

koala seeking water inside a garage

The female koala, now named Sam, was taken by the firefighters for medical care.  The LATimes did a followup story on Sam.

Whole towns have been wiped out because the fire spread so quickly due to high winds.  This was an arson fire, which is appalling.

Veronica tells me that Australia has a Red Cross for people around the world to donate to, if they are touched by this tragedy.  Perhaps, she will post a comment with links for individuals who want to help.  Veronica, will you also link to the Australian site for Animal Rescue, too?  Veronica responds:

“We are all devistated by these fires many of us crying while viewing tv footage which seems never ending.
One arsonist has been taken into custody and charged while the search goes on for another.

Appropriate websites should anyone wish to make a donation are:

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm

http://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/cms/index.php

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Take care, wherever you live.